The Wishing Stone, Chapter I: Tradition

Story by PanikOtter on SoFurry

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#1 of The Wishing Stone

The first chapter of a rather long story I've had rolling around my head for a few months now. I hope this is something that everyone can enjoy. There is some suggestive writing in one short portion of this chapter, but nothing explicit, so I hope the rating I chose is suitable.


Chapter I: Tradition

"Allister!"

The string of the bow nearly snapped, and the otter let out a little curse under his breath. His body twisted, toned muscles shifting with an easy weight. He recognised the voice, and felt no need to become defensive. The youth even managed a smile, which tugged at his snout as he saw a much small, younger figure begin to charge from the brushes.

"I thought I'd find you out here, big brother!" The young otter sounded almost indignant, her headfur hanging loose down her rounded face like locks of hair - messy ones at that. Allister knew she'd probably had her hair tied up not long before. Her emerald eyes stared up with a bright innocence, matched easily by the curve of her cheeks as she ran towards the older figure.

"Kara," Allister began, the older otter kneeling down just as the bundle of energy ran to his form, his arms wrapping around her, forehead touching hers - she giggled at that, "awfully far out from the village, aren't we?"

The young girl pulled away slightly then, her lower lip poking out, brow furrowing with frustration, "Nana was trying to make me wear the ceremonial dress again." She was stern in that. Allister found it cute, somewhat, how she put so much disdain into something so arbitrary. Traditions were important, after all, as they'd been told many times.

"Now, Kara, you know that this is important..." Allister began, before moving to sit more comfortably against the grass, patting a space close to him as he looked up at his younger sister. His azure eyes looked over her form at the mention of the ceremony. It was hard to believe it was almost time - he wondered what their parents would be thinking now, of their little, sweet Kara, now a lit fire with the burnings of rebellion. She'd sprouted into quite the young lady too - slender, and tall for her age.

The young flame huffed and sat beside her brother, "Yeah, I know...but I don't want to wear that silly dress. Can't I just dress like this for my Awakening?" Those green eyes looked up into her brother's blues, searching for guidance. They'd lost their parents before Kara had seen even her second year, she never truly knew them. Allister had to play more than just brother, given his Grandfather's duties as Chief.

The boy let out a soft exhale, and he tussled gently at his sister's locks, managing to get a smile out of her again, "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, Kara. I don't think the Gods would be very happy if you had your first bleeding in a tunic and some shorts, do you?" The question was playful, but held a weight to them. It was difficult for Allister, to balance being both the young girl's guardian and her brother, to both be a shoulder to lean on and a source of wisdom. He knew he should guide her to follow the tribe in everything, but it was hard sometimes to tell her to resist her desires of being free. He knew those frustrations well, but he had to grow up fast, and even now he was only seventeen and only five years her elder. They were both still children, and he wanted Kara to be able to act like one as long as she could.

"I don't think they'd mind!" She tried to insist, but she hesitated. The Gods weren't for angering. Their rage was known to rattle the sea - to kill the fish, to starve villages and destroy boats. She feared them as Allister once did, before he knew that it was all a balance, that kindness must be weighed with fear to keep the path true. "Maybe if I prayed to them, they would understand." She tried again, frustration crossing her features for another brief moment.

Allister laughed softly, fingers further messing through her fur again, "Maybe they will. But if they don't, do you promise to behave and wear the dress?"

"I guess so."

"Kara..."

She sighed and acquiesced, "I promise, Allister."

He smiled at that, and his hand moved from head to shoulder, and he pulled her close, "Good. Now, you've distracted me from my training long enough, I think. How am I going to become a proper warrior if I have to keep dealing with your troubles, hm?" He asked playfully, smirking at her as his grip loosened and he stood upright, picking his bow back up and pulling an arrow from his quiver.

"Brother?"

Allister's shoulders sagged, a brief moment of genuine exasperation as he fought off the desire to roll his eyes, "Yes, little sister?" His slight annoyance dissipated, however, as he saw the nervous fidgeting of his sister.

"Um...could I..." She kept glancing up nervously, a deep anxiety having ran through her. She was struggling to say what she wanted, she knew that a lady wasn't to have an interest in such things, but her curiosity was too great, "can I watch you practice?"

"Kara, "Allister hesitated himself, his first impulse was to chastise her, as Nana probably would, but guilt swallowed it down. He looked at his sister, so nervous to even suggest such an innocent thing as indulging in a harmless curiosity, and he was to stifle that? He exhaled, "Alright, just...don't tell Nana or Grandfather?"

The young girl's eyes brightened and she nodded enthusiastically, gently shifting herself for a better view past her brother and to the painted, wooden target he'd tied to a tree hanging in the distance. It was probably the first time Allister could remember in years that he'd seen her sit proper, with her legs tucked underneath her body. It made him smile.

Allister readied his bow again, feeling the tension as he pulled his arm back, "Now, watch closely, Kara."

And, oh, watch she did.

###

Kara wished that her brother was there. She looked around the hut for someone other than Nana and the mostly strange faces of the female villagers. She knew most, but only in passing. But here they were, observing her as she was made to lay upon cold stone. She shuddered, the end of her dress draping between her otherwise naked legs, futile in the attempt to hide her innocence, given the proceedings. She had prayed, but the Gods did not answer. She had promised Allister she would behave if that was so, and she never broke a promise to her brother.

Nana spoke in tongues above her, in the old language. Kara was still learning, and she seldom paid attention at that. She caught words like 'bleeding', and 'offering', and the names of the Gods, but it was mostly lost on her.

The young otter gasped softly as two other women in robes, as part of the ceremony, grabbed her legs and opened them. Another lifted her dress and Kara's cheeks grew hot at what she knew all the others could see of her. The same woman that had just lifted her dress and bared her lower half to the room reached for a bowl and began to rub a pale-green substance around her groin, avoiding her heat, but still causing the girl to whine nervously.

The paste was uncomfortable; it was cold and thick, and it stuck to her fur. As it settled onto her body, a further feeling of discomfort the young girl's midsection, starting there and making its way down. It twisted around in knots, almost feeling as if her insides were being tugged on, and the girl cried out softly. It hurt, and it only hurt more as it travelled down deeper, until it hit a wall.

At first, Kara thought she might need to pee, but that she couldn't release. She felt a pressure pressing tight against her crotch, and she struggled with the women holding down her legs, wanting so desperately to close them and to huddle into a ball until the pain subsided. She began to cry, and she managed, "Nana!" She began to sob, looking up past wet eyes, but the elderly otter wasn't looking to her, instead still speaking the old tongue and now addressing the mural to the Gods.

Kara only sobbed harder when the flood finally released, the pain sharp as she felt a sticky wetness escape her. She continued to cry as she bleed, and as Nana addressed her again, in words she barely understood, seeming not to understand or care for her granddaughter's plight.

She wished Allister were there.

###

Allister watched as the boats came ashore, and he smiled as he saw a familiar face come to the pier, "Brady!" he called, making his way across the wooden flooring to the other boy.

"Well, look at that, I get greeted back by the future Great Protector himself." The otter teased, his fur a deep grey compared to Allister's sandy brown. He was only a season younger than the other, a fact Allister often didn't let him forget. On that same merit, however, Brady was already a good fisherman, a provider to the tribe, whereas Allister had yet to be officially marked as a warrior.

"One day you won't be able to use that against me, young one." Allister shot back, smirking as he watched Brady's lips tighten in annoyance, "I will gain a title, a proud one, like my father did."

Brady's face softened at that, out of sight as he hitched his boat. When he looked back over to his prideful friend, he offered a cautious response, "You'd think given your father's accomplishments and that the Chief is in your family, you'd have a title already." The fisherman paused, hesitating to finish his point, "Especially with how much you practice, how good of a shot you are with that bow of yours."

Allister didn't know how to take the observation at first, his brows furrowing for a moment, "Well - I mean, tradition is important!" His eyes searched the ground for a moment then, before he looked to his friend once more, "Just because the Chief is my Grandfather, I can't expect special treatment."

"No, you can't," the fisherman agreed, "but Owen made warrior last season, and he's your younger. By a year, perhaps, but still. There's no way he trains half as hard as you do, Allister. This isn't about being special or favoured, it's about getting your due." Brady's tone was blunt.

"There must be a reason. My time will come, I know." Allister said, but he'd stopped looking at his friend. He wondered how much he was assuring himself in saying that.

"I hope so." Brady said softly, before smiling some and turning to his boat, pulling out a damp-looking sack, "Until then, you can help me get these fish back to the village."

The other nodded and was glad to have something to do all of a sudden. He wanted to take his mind off of the doubts that had begun to swim around in his head.

###

Kennan felt the winds around him as easily as anything else. As his bones grew old, and his mind weary, his connection to the earth only seemed to grow. He'd found peace in that, that the ground seemed to easily accept him now. He hoped that would make his passing easier.

Sometimes, the whispers that came to him on the wind sounded like his son's. He shuddered as a brief darkness pulsed through him. He could still see those eyes looking up at him, without truly looking. He remembered sending the body out to sea, and not long after that Alanna's sickness took her too. Now, all he had left was their children, and he wouldn't make the same mistakes with them.

"Chief? I'm sorry to bother you..."

Kennan's eyes opened, and he looked up to see young Allister before him. The elder closed his eyes again, focusing on the earth still as he responded, "What's on your mind, young one?"

"Well, I was just thinking...I know that the next Trial isn't for some time, but I was hoping that you might consider allowing me to prove myself before then?" The otter asked nervously, feeling small despite being both taller and less fragile than the old man sitting in front of him.

The elder scoffed, "You know that I can't break tradition. The Trial is where young warriors prove themselves worthy of the title. Perhaps if you keep at it, you will be ready this time."

"'Perhaps'? Chief, I am ready. I've been ready for a long time." Allister insisted, trying to keep his voice level, to be respectful, but he felt a little like he was being talked down to.

"Oh? And you decide that, do you?" Kennan said sternly, opening his eyes again. His eyes were steely, looking up at his grandson with a frown, "You are still a child. You've made that very clear with your arrogance." He said, in the tone that usually meant that the conversation was over. He closed his eyes again. "Now, go home. Your sister is waiting for you there."

The young otter's face briefly softened at hearing of Kara. Of course, her Awakening. She was a young lady now. But then his brows knitted together - his grandfather was trying to dismiss him, brush him aside.

"No. Grandfather, you have to listen to me. This isn't fair. I have proven--"

"You have proven nothing!" Kennan interrupted, and he began to stand, his meditation interrupted. The chief looked up at his grandson furiously, "You impudent boy. You challenge your elder, your Chief, and you expect that to prove your worth to the tribe? Maybe you will never be ready to become a warrior like your father."

Allister tried to relax, to control himself, but he couldn't stop his voice from rising, "I just want you to see that I am a great warrior, that I can be like my fa--"

"You will never come close to being half the warrior he was." Kennan said sharply, and he regretted it instantly, as he saw the shocked expression take over his grandson's face. But perhaps it needed to be this way. His expression remained stern, "Go to Kara. We will talk more about your worth later."

Allister opened his mouth to respond, though only for a moment before he thought better of it. He looked down at his grandfather for a moment, before brushing past him, deeper into the village.

Kennan looked back after the boy, watching him disappear. The elder sighed and glanced up at the sky, "Oh, Elias, I hope you'll forgive me..."

###

Allister returned to the small hut he shared with his sister, and he found that his anger subsided then - or, at the very least, found itself pushed into the back of his head - as he laid eyes on his sister. She was curled up in bed like a baby, her sheet tight over her form. He could hear her sobbing to herself, her form shaking ever so slightly against the bedding.

"Kara?"

The shakes stopped, and the young otter tried to collect herself as she sat upright slowly. She looked up at her brother, wiping her reddened eyes and seeing the look of concern on his face, she tried to disarm him with a smile, "B-Brother, you're back."

It was an odd response, but the older otter went with it initially, "Yeah. I saw Brady, helped him carry some fish back to the village. Then I went to see the Chief."

"Grandfather?" Kara asked curiously, her legs tucking awkwardly under her body, "What for?"

"The Trial. I was hoping I might finally get the chance to prove myself to him...but, he--"

Kara seemed to brighten up then, "You're finally going to take part in the Trial? You're going to become a warrior?"

Allister saw his sister's excitement, saw how the idea lifted her mood, and he couldn't tell her the truth. At least, not fully, "Maybe. We'll have to see, I suppose." The older otter offered with a smile. He looked to his sister, and he couldn't help but remember the way just watching him train had captivated her. A thought occurred to Allister - he wasn't sure if it was born out of bitterness, frustration, or something else, but it came to him all the same.

"Kara, how would you like me to teach you to use a bow?"